The Core Values of God Part One
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009The Core Values of God
“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” 2Timothy 1:13-14 (NIV)
There are sound teachings that were deposited into the early church by the apostles that ensured the life, vitality, relevancy and strength of the church. These are the core values of our heavenly Father that were also taught to us by Christ Himself. Values of His Kingdom that would establish His body as the pillar and foundation of truth in the earth made evident by the conduct of our life style. If God by His nature is eternal then everything that proceeds from Him has eternal value and is unchanging. The importance that God places on certain principle elements in our personal relationship with Him is reflective of His unchanging nature. They are conduits of His nature being supplied into our lives. Each of these elements are faculties of our walk, growth and fruitfulness in His Spirit.
When we compare the state of the present day church to that of the early church what variations do we find between the two? Where do the differences lay between the values of the early church and that of the 21st century church? How far have we veered from the pattern of sound teaching that built a community of believers that found the cause of Christ worth living and dying for? Journey with me as we take this opportunity to define the core values of God embraced and applied in the daily life of the early believer.
The Value of His Word:
“I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your loving kindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2 (NKJ)
God puts such value on His word that He exalts it above His name. As we take a close look at the early church we see that the early believers gave themselves to the daily teaching of God’s word. Acts 2:42 records, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching…”
After reading the emphasis God places on His word and the value the early believers held for the word one needs to ask the question how much value do I place on His word? Most every Christian would acknowledge that the word of God holds a place of great value for them and their faith, however that confession is rarely supported by the evidence of disciplined practice.
How often do you take time to devote yourself to the reading and teaching of the scripture? How many days a week are the pages of your bible accessed for the reading, studying and learning of what is His will for you, and the promises that you have as His child? It is a frightening, yet growing trend that many “believers” don’t even believe the scripture is the inerrant word of God. What forms the doctrine of the church and the believer if we are ignorant of the scripture which is inspired by God?
The word is the foundation of our faith. If we do not know the word then we have no foundation for faith, and any wind of doctrine is capable of blowing us into the cliffs of deception. The word renews our mind; it protects us from sin; it gives us life. If we confess the importance of the word, let us prove it by becoming devoted students of it.
The Value of Prayer:
“… For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” Isaiah 56:7 (NKJ)
God makes it clear that His house will be known for the activity of prayer that is continually conducted in it. If God wants His house to be called a “house of prayer” that must mean that God wants prayer and a lot of it going on in His house. Once again we see that the early believer understood the value of prayer as important to God and therefore was important in the life of the child of God. Acts 2:42 records, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” It was while the first believers were in prayer that the Holy Spirit fell upon them, and birthed the existence of the church. It was the prayer of the saints that caused the miraculous release of Peter from prison. We see throughout all of scripture the importance that God places on His people praying, and praying all the time. The scripture says, “Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
God teaches us in His word that the measure of our prayer life determines the measure of power we operate in this life. Our ability to be effective in changing circumstances, outcomes, people and nations is determined by the life of prayer a believer lives. James 5:16 says, “…The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
Ask the common church goer or the modern day believer what value they place in prayer, and you will get a resounding “much”. However when one compares the confession of a believer to the lifestyle of the believer there seems to be some discrepancy. A present day believer admits to the importance of prayer, but often their prayer life is reduced to moments of personal or national crisis, meal time or night time rituals or petitions of personal desires to achieve individual challenges or ambitions. But ask, how often one attends prayer meetings with other believers? How much time is devoted to a daily personal prayer time? Why as Christians do we so often find reasons why we can’t pray rather than giving ourselves to a life of prayer, and treasure those miraculous moments where we join with other believers in changing history through prayer? Do we place the same value in prayer as our heavenly Father? Prayer is so important to the Father that He even caused heaven to become silent for a time as the prayers of the saints rose up before His throne. If you live with a shallow existence of a prayer life then allow that existence to deepen with a new devotion and discipline to a lifestyle of prayer.